Sylvania



Sept; 1,1925. Y 1,551,549

W. B. FLANDERS MARINE misma- Filed Aug: 29 1921 WBFIandrs INVENTOR ATTORNEY Patented Sept. 1, 1925 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

WARREN B. FLANDERS, OF PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA, ASSIGNOR'TO WESTING HOUSE ELECTRIC AND MANUFACTURING COMPANY, A CORPORATION OF PENN- SYLVANIA.

MARINE TURBINE.

, Application filed August 29, 1921. SeriatNo. 496,618.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, WARREN B. FLANnnns, a citizen of the United States, and a resident of Philadelphia, in the county of Philadelphia and State of Pennsylvania, have invented a new and useful Improvement in Marine Turbines, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to steam turbines, more particularly of the marine type, and has for its object to provide apparatus of the character designated which shall be readily controllable for eflicient' operation at varying speeds and loads.

A further object of my invention is the provision of means which .shall prevent overspeeding of the turbine when the ship is turned or when it is desired to prevent the driven mechanism from being overloaded.

In the accompanying drawings, forming a part of the description, Figure 1 is a diagrammatic View showing a' turbine, partly in section and partly in elevation, together with my improvements applied thereto, and Fig. 2 is a detailed view of a part of the mechanism.

My invention includes apparatus whereby marine turbines of the larger sizes may be effectively controlled with a high degree of flexibility. Also, the controlling means comprises mechanism whereby, When the ship, in which the turbine is installed, is

turned, the turbine is so' controlled as to prevent overloading of the generator in electrically propelled installations. Another feature of the invention is the provision of distant-control means for changing the resistance against which the governor acts, whereby the governor may be adjusted for different speed ranges.

Referring now more particularly to the drawings for a detailed description of my invention. I show a turbine at 10 of the semi-double-flow type, including .a singleflow, high-pressure organization having .impulse and reaction sections 11 and 12, and a double-flow, low-pressure organization comprising sections 13 and 14 adapted to discharge to a suitable condenser or condensers, not shown.

High-pressure steam 1s supplied from a' main 15 to the steam chest 16 from which it is admitted to the impulse section 11 by means of a plurality of groups of expanding nozzles 17 having controlling valves 18. The quantity of steam admitted to the impulse section may be varied by appropri-l ately manipulating the valves 18. After passing through the turbine sections 11 and 12, and having energy abstracted therefrom,

the elastic fluid then divides, one part pass;

ing to the section 13 and the other part pass;

ing through the conduit 20 to the other section 14 of the double-flow, low-pressure or ganization.

Additional motivefiuid, at a suitable.

pressure, may be-admitted by means of a conduit 21 to the conduit 20 from which it passes to the sections 13 and 14 of the double-flowylow-pressure organization. A by.

pass valve 22 is arranged in the conduit 21 and is adapted to afford communication between the conluits' 20 and'21 or to provide for communica ion of the conduit 21 with a passage 23 leading to the exhaust end of the turbine. The by-pass valve is c uitrolled, in

a manner to be described, in order to vary the admission of steam from the auxiliary source to the double-flow, low-pressure organization in accordance with the operating requirements,

The high-pressure steam main 15 has 10 cated therein a steam admission valve 25 as of the balanced, poppet type and this valve is under the control of suitable, governor mechanism, whereby the quantity of steam about its pivotal connection 31, as a fulcrum, by means of a suitable link 32 pivoted to the bell-crank mechanism at 33 and connected to the lever 30 at 34. The floating lever 30 is pivotally connected, at 35, to the pistonrod 36 of a suitable pilot valve 37 of a I fluid relay valve mechanism at 38, ot' a wellknown type. The floating lever 30 is connected to a lever 39 by means of a suitable link 40, pivotally connected to the lever 30 at 31 and pivotally connected to the lever 39 at 41. The lever 39 is fulcrumed at 39' and is connected to the valve 25 by means of a suitable rod 42 pivoted thereto at 43. The lever 39 is also pivotally connected at 44 to the rod 45 of the piston 46 of the fluid operating cylinder 47. I

The pilot valve mechanism at 38 comprises a piston valve 37 of a well-known type adapted to control communication between the-ports 50 and 51 with a suitable fluid supply port 52 and exhaust ports 53 and 54. The ports 50 and 51 are normally in communication with the conduits 55 and 56 communicating with the cylinder 47 above and below the piston 46, respectively.

hen the piston 46 moves in response tofluid pressure, it acts through the lever 39, the link 40, and the floating lever 30 to move the piston valve 37'to a neutral position to cut 06 the supply of oil under pressure to the operating cylinder 47.

The by-pass valve 22 and the admission valve 25 are so related and controlled that the by-pass valve, in supplying steam to the low-pressure organization, is closed when the admission valve is open and opens after the admission val've closes. The by-pass valve 22 operates either to supply steam to the double-flow, low-pressure organization or to open the supply tot-he exhaust as shown; and in order to secure the requisite movement of the by-pass valve. the latter has a suitable rod 58 to which is connected a piston 59 arranged within a cylinder 60. The conduit 55 for supplying fluid above the piston 46 communicates with a conduit '61 for supplying fluid to the cylinder 60 below the piston 59, and the conduit 56 for supplying fluid under pressure below the piston 46 communicates with a conduit 62 for supplying fluid under pressure'above the piston 59.

tendency upon the valve 25. Accordingly,

it is necessary, in order to hold the valve 25 in equilibrium off its seat, that the pressure underneath the piston 46 shall be a few pounds higher than that above.' 'It will, therefore, be seen that, as long as the pres sure below the piston 46 predominates, a superior pressure is effective above the piston 59 of the by-pass valve 22 to maintain the valve shut so as to allow the full supply of steam from the auxiliary connection to pass to the double-flow, low-pressure organization.

If the turbine should speed up, as under light load, the governor operates through the fluid relay mechanism to cause the valve 25 to move to such a position as to restrict the flow of steam to the steam chest 16. It will be understood that, when the valve moves down, the pilot valve 37 is moved to a neutral cut-off position by meansof the lever 39, the link 40 and the floating lever 30, in a well-known manner. The turbine may continue to operate with more and more restriction of the valve 25, if the load is din'iiuished,-uutil the latter valve is seated,. cutting oil the supply of steam to the steam chest 16. VVhernthe valve is seated, the spring 63 ceases t'o/exert a downward pull on the lever 39, and, when the valve 25 is seated. the relay valve 37 moves slightly above its neutral position, as the relay valve cannot be brought back to its neutral osition by the lever 39, link 40, and the floating lever 30. This results in the pressure above the piston 46 becoming greater, and, accordingly, the predominating" pressure is communicated by means of the conduit 6] nd acts beneath the piston 59 to raise the latter and open the by-pass valve 22 to afford conimunication between the auxiliary conduit 21 and the by-pass connection 23 to the desired extent, thereby further cutting down the supply of steam to the turbine to take care of diminishing loads. Should the load on the turbine increase, with the by-pass valve 22 open, the governor will act to so operate the fluid relay as to cause the pressure below the piston 59 to become less; and when the pressure below the piston 59 together :with the pressure due to the tension of the spring 64 become less than the pres sure exerted above the piston. the latter moves down to close communication between the auxiliary supply conduit and the by-pass connection 23. If the load increases further, the by-pass valve 22 first closes entire communication between the conduit 21 and the by-pass connection 23, and, finally, when the pressure beneath the piston 46 is.enough in excess of the pressure thereabove, taken with the tension of the spring 63, the admission valve 25 is moved up due to an upward motion of the piston 46 in consequence of predominating pressure therebelow. It will be understood that, under all conditions of operation, except when the admission valve is completely closed, the fluid relay valve 37 is brought back to a neutral position due to the operation of the piston 46.

But for the presence of the springs 63 and 64, particularly the spring 63, the sequential action of the valves 25 and 22 in the manner stated would not be properly effected. As long as the valve 25 is off its seat, the spring 63 assures that a higher pressure shall obtain below the piston 46, in the conduits 56 and 62, and above the piston 59 than obtains below the latter piston and above the piston 46. The pressure above the piston 59 is opposed by the pressure therebelow as well as by the spring 64; and, whenever the spring and pressure below the piston 59 predominate over the pressure above, the piston -=moves up to open the by-pass connection. The apparatus shown for operating the by-pass valve not only assures that it shall open after and close before the main admission valve 25 but, due to the means set forth for operating the valve 22, particularly the spring 64, the latter valve is prevented from fluttering in.

operation. Obviously the valve 22 may be controlled by hand, and I show abandwheel 65 for this purpose.

The governor is adapted to be controlled from a distance by suitable control mechanism which may be located at any desired point on a ship, for example, on the bridge,

or at any desired number of points. Fundamentally, the distant-control mechanism is,

adapted to exert varying'pressures upon the governor 26 so that the fly balls thereof will have to work against varying resistances. It will therefore, be seen that. a sensitive governing mechanism is provided which is capable of being so adjusted that it may operate to govern the turbine sensitively at different ranges.

The distant-control mechanism 66 comprises a cylinder 67 having a piston 68 therein, a s ring 69' being arranged between the 'top 0 the cylinder and the piston. The has a suitable oil supply port 70 cylinder through which oil may be admitted to the space beneath the piston when the piston valve 71 is so moved as to afford communication between the oil pressure supply port 72 and the port 70. The cylinder 69 is provided with a conduit 73 which communicates with acylinder 74 Within which is located a piston 75 to which is connected one end of the governor 26. It. will be apparent that, when the governor balls fly out, the connection 26 operates through the rod 76 to push the piston 75 toward the right until there is equilibrium between the forces acting on the piston 75.

An exhaustport 78 is located below the oil pressure supply port 72;

' age to a lf'ord and, if the iston valve 71 is moved up, the space he ow the piston 68 will be placed in communication with the exhaust port to relieve the pressure below the piston.

In order to secure different pressures of oil for cooperation with the piston 75 in the manner stated, I have provided means whereby the piston valve 71 may be manipulated so as to afford communication of the oil pressuresupply port 72 with the space beneath the piston 68. This mechanism comprises a worm 80, operable by an appropriate hand wheel 81, the worm meshing with a worm sector 82, which is pivotally mounted at 83, and has a bell-crank portion 84 pivotally connected at 85 to the link 86, which is pivotally connected at 87 to the lever 88. The lever 88 is pivotally connected at 89 with the piston rod 90 of the piston 68 and is pivotallyconnected at 91 to a link 92, the latter being pivotally connected at 93 to the lever 94, fulcrumed at 95 and pivotally connected at an intermediate point 96 to the rod 97 of the piston valve 71. \Vhen the sector 82 is moved in a counter-clockwise direction andtilts the bell-crank portion 84 upwardly, the piston valve is forced down by the action of the intermediate linkcommunication between the oil pressure supply and-the space beneath the piston 68. and forces the latter upwardly; and, at the same time, the rod 90 tilts the lever 88 about the pivotal connection 87 as a fulcrum to 1111 the lever 94 up about its fulcrum 95 to pull the piston valve 7 .1 upwardly in order to cut off the supply of oil under pressure to the space beneath the piston 68. It will, therefore, be apparent. that, with a given position of the sector 82, determined by oper'- ation of the worm and hand wheel 81, oil will be admitted beneath the piston until the piston valve 71 is brought back to a neutral or cut-off position, when the oil beneath the piston68 will be under a pressure deter mined by the extent of compression'of the spring 69. Therefore, in order to increase the pressure of oil beneath the piston 68, in the conduit 73, and in the cylinder 74, itis merely necessary to tilt the sect0r'82 in a counter-clock-wise direction. In order to diminish the pressure in the cylinder 74 ofthe governor, the sector 82 is tilted in a clock-wise direction, resulting in the movement of the piston valve 71 upwardly in order to place the space beneath the piston 68 in communication with the exhaust port 78, where'upon oil flows out, resulting in. a downward movement of the piston 68 and in a diminution of the pressure exerted by the spring 69. The downward movement of the piston 68 causes the lever 88 to tilt about the pivotal connection 87 and force the lever 94 Oil enters beneath the piston 68 downwardly about its pivotal connection 95,

thereby resulting in a downward movement of the piston valve 71 rmtil the latter occupies a neutral position, cutting-off communication between the space beneath the piston 68 and the exhaust port. A motor may be used in place of the hand-wheel 81, and the motor may be operated from any point or number of points desired.

The fulcrum or pivot connection for the lever 94 is carried by a suitable vibrator comprising a suitable eccentric 98 and a strap element 99. the latter carrying said pivotal connection 95. The eccentric. 98 causes. through the strap element 99 and the lever 94, the piston valve to move up and down, causing a fluctuation in pressure under the piston 68 with a resultant small movement of the latter, thus eliminating any tendency towards sticking which would be detrimental to the proper operation of the equipment.

It will, therefore, be seen that the governor 26 may have varying pressures imposed upon its piston 75 by means 'of the pressure adjusting mechanism at 66 in order to render the governor capable of performing its governing function in connection with the turbine when the latter is operated at dill'erent speeds. For example, ifthe turbine is to be operated at a low speed, the pressure of oil in the cylinder 74 will be correspondingly small. On the other-hand, if the turbine is to be operated at a higher speed, the oil pressure adjusting mechanism is so operated as to increase the pressure of oil in the cylinder 7 4 to a point corresponding to the speed desired. 1

\Vhen the ship turns, it is desirable to so control the turbine as to prevent the governor mechanism from operating to open the admission valve wider to supply an increased quantity of steam thereto which would result in overloading of the main generator, should the turbine be used as a part of an electric propulsion installation. Accordingly, I provide means, in connection with the governor, which positively prevents opening of thevalve 25 to a wider position but does not interfere with the closure of such valve in response to the action of the governor. This result may conveniently be efi'ected by making the bellcrank mechanism 28 in two parts 100 and 101, Fig. 2, pivotally connected at 29 and having a spring connection therebetween. ()ne arm of the bell-crank portion 101 is connected to the governor at 26 and the other arm has a portion 103 adapted to contact with the portion 100 in order to tilt the latter about the pivotal connection 29, when the bell-crank portion 101 is moved in a counter-clock-wise direction about said pivotal connection. \Vhen the governor operates to tilt the bell-crank portion 101 about its pivotal connection 29 in a clock-wise dithe spring connection 102, if movement of the portion 100 is not opposed by a resistance in excess of that of the various moving parts.

The movementof the portion 100 of the combined bell-crank mechanism 28, in a cotmter-elock-wise direction results in the operation of the relay in such a way as to effect a closing motion of the admission valve 25; and a motion of the portion 100 in clock-wise direction results in the movement of the admission valve in an opening direction. I have, therefore, provided means associated with an element which is moved when the ship turns, for example, a steering element, and with said portion 100 of the two-part bell-crank mechanism 28 in such a way as to positively prevent the movement thereof about the pivotal connection 29 in a clock-wise direction when the ship is turned. or the means may be set by hand for any desired purpose to prevent the movement in a clock-wise direction about the pivotal connection 29.

The means for preventing the movement of the portion 100 of the twopart bellcrank in the manner stated comprises a depending link member 104, pivotally conlltt'lttl to the portion 100 at 105. The lower end of the link member 104 is operated upon by suitable clutching mechanism 106 so as to prevent movement of the portion 100 in a clock-wise direction.'

The clutching mechanism comprises a member 107 provided with suitably inclined surfaces between which are interposed the lower end of the link member 104 and a suitable roller element 108. The surfaces of the member 107 are so disposed that, if the roller element is moved upwardly, the lower end of the link member 104 is clutched or gripped between it and one of the surfaces. Therefore, the link member is se curely gripped against movement in an upward direction; however, should the link member tend to move downwardly, it may readily do so as such motion merely tends to move the roller out of its gripping relation.

The roller 108 is moved upwardly into a gripping position by any suitable means, for example, a solenoid 110 having a core 111 which is pulled upwardly when the solenoid is energized and acts, through the rod portion 112, to force the rolling member 108 into an upper gripping position.

From the structure described, it will be obvious that the solenoid could be energized whenever the ship turns in order to. produce the locking action referred to; or a suitable switch operated by hand when desired may be used. I have, therefore, included the solenoid in a circuit 113 which is closed whenever the element 114, for ex ample, a steering element, moves sufficiently switch circuit or circuits.

The turbine 10 is provided with suitable glands 117 which are provided with a steam portions 118 and water portions 119. When the turbine is operating at low speeds, lowpressure steam is supplied to the steam portions 118; however, when the speed of the turbine reaches such a point that the water portions 119 may be satisfactorily operated, the Supply of steam to the steam portions 118 of the glands is cut off and the water supply for the water sealing portions 119 is turned on. The latter operations are automatically performed in a manner to be described. 7

The steam portions 118 of the glands are supplied by means of a suitable conduit 120 and water is supplied to the water.

sealing portions by means of a conduit 121. These conduits communicate with the governor-controlled valve mechanism 122. The valve mechanism 122 is connected to a water supply conduit 123 and to a steam supply conduit 124 connected to the steam main 15. The valve mechanism 122 comprises a water valve 125, which, when open, affords communicationbetween the supply 123 and the conduit 121 to supply Water to the sealing glands 119; and a steam valve portion 126, which when open, affords communication between the steam conduits 124 and 120 to supply steam to the steam sealing portions-118 of the glands. The steam and water valves 125 and 126 are so related that when the water valve 125 is opened, the steam valve 126 is closed and vice versa. Preferably, the water valve 125 is normally moved to a closing position by means of a suitable spring and is opened by means of a projection carried by the steam valve and which comes in contact with the water valve to open it when the steam valve closes.

The steam valve is provided with a piston portion .128 which communicates, by means of a conduit 129, with a suitable governor-controlled releasing valve. The governor 130 is preferably driven by the gearing 131 receiving motion from the gearing driving the governor 26. The governor 130 operates to shift the piston valve 132 to place the conduit 129 in communication with the exhaust port 133 or to hold the piston valve 132 in a neutral position, cutting off communication with said port; The steam connection 124 communicates with the cylinder portion 128 above the piston portion piston valve 132 moves in such a direction as to afford communication between the 127. Consequently, if the space below the piston 127 and the exhaust port 133, the piston 127 will be moved down due to the superior pressure above it, and this results in the opening of the steam valve 126 and the closure of the water valve 125. After the piston valve 132 assumes a neutral or cut-off position, steam leaks around the piston 127, to the lower portion of the cylinder 128, and as the steam valve 126 takes up a portion of the upper surface of the piston 127, the entire portion of the lower surface being exposed to pres sure, the piston 127 moves upwardly, in a differential manner, to close the steam valve and to open the water valve.

From the above, it Will be seen that I have provided cooperating governing mechanism for controlling both the speed of the turbine and for controlling the supply of steam or water to the steam and water glands 117 thereof The governor 26 controls the operation of the elastic-fluid admission valves 25' and 22 so as to secure proper turbine speeds and the distant-control means, at 66, cooperates with said governor so that the latter may be adjusted for the purpose of controlling the operation of the turbine at different speed ranges; The governor 130 is responsive to the speed of the turbine so as to control the steam and water connections for the pur ose of admitting steam to theglands 11 when the turbine is operating below a predetermined speed and to supply water to the glands when the turbine isoperating at or above the predetermined speed. It will, therefore, be seen that I have provided a governing mechanism whereby the turbine may be controlled so as to operate over a wide range of speeds and the glands may be eflectively sealed at all times when the turbine is in operation.

I show suitable auto-stop controlling mechanism in order to stop the turbine when its speed exceeds a predetermined amount. This mechanism comprises a well-known auto-stop tripping mechanism 135, which operates, when the turbine shaft 28 rotates beyond a predetermined speed, to release the steam valve 136, thereby resulting in a release of pressure beneath the auto-stop piston 137 for the throttle valve 138 and in a release of pressure beneath the auto-stop piston 139 for the piston valve 140 associated with the relay valve mechanism 38, so as to afford communication between the pressure supply port52 and theupper portion of the cylinder 47 in order to supply 011 under pressure above piston 46 for the purpose of closin the admission valve, 25. I may also rovi e an auto-stop cylinder 141 in conunction with a suitable valve 142 forthe purpose of closing communication between the conduit 20 and the auxiliary supply conduit 21. All of the auto-stop cylinders are provided with a common conduit system in communication with the valve 136, so that, when the latter valve is opened, pressure beneath all of the auto-stop tons is simultaneously released so that the pressure of live steam above each piston may so move the pistons as to secure a quick closing of all of the steam valves with which the auto-stop cylinders are associated.

From the above, it will be seen that I have provided means by which turbines, particularly of the larger marine type, may be controlled with a high degree of flexibility from any suitable point, the same governormechanism being ,so adjusted as to render it capable of properly performing its governing functions at varying speeds. Also, I provide means, interrelated with the governor mechanism, so as to prevent overloading of the generators when the ship is turning or under other conditions of operation as" may be found desirable.

While I have shown my invention in but one form, it will be obvious to those skilled in the art that it is not so limited, but is susceptible of various other changes and modifications, without departing from the spirit .thereof, and I desire, therefore, that only such limitations shall be placed thereupon as are imposed by the prior art or as are specifically set forth in the appended claims.

What I claim is 1. A. turbine installation comprising a high-pressure organization, a lowpressure organization adapted to utilize steam exhausted from the high-pressure organization, a conduit for supplying steam to the high-pressure organization, an auxiliary conduit for supplying steam to the low-pressure organization, a valve for the main steam supply conduit, governor-controlled oil relay mechanism for moving the valve including an operating cylinder provided with a piston and having oil supply conduits connected at the top and at the bottom thereof, means between the piston and the valve whereby, when the piston moves, the valve moves, a spring arranged to exert its force on the valve so that the oil pressure on one side of the piston must be greater than that on the other side when the mechanism is in equilibrium with the valve off its seat, a valve for controlling communication between the auxiliary steam supply conduit and the lowpressure organization, a second operating cylinder and a piston therein for moving the latter valve to open and close communication between the auxiliary steam supply conduit and the low-pressure organization, oil conduits between the opposite ends of the latter cylinder and the conduits for the first operating cylinder, whereby the predominating pressure in one of the conduits is utilized to act on the piston of the auxiliary supply pisvalve to maintain communication between the auxiliarysupply conduit and the lowpressure organization as long as the relationship of predominating subsists.

2. A control mechanism for a prime mover comprising a motive-fluid admission valve, a governor mechanism for controlling the admission valve to take care of varying loads, a oneway clutching device associated with the governing mechanism, and operating means for the clutching device rendered efiective at will to render the governing mechanism ineffective to open the admission valve wider but leave it free to move said valve in a closing direction.

3. A control mechanism for a prime mover comprising a motive-fluid admission valve, a governor mechanism for controllingthe admission valve to take care of varying loads, a one-way, solenoid-operated clutching device associated with the governing mechanism, and operating means for the clutching device rendered effective by movement of a suitable element thereof, whereby, upon movement of said element the governing mechanism is ineffective to open the admission valve wider but is free to move said valve in a closing direction.

4. control mechanism for a marine prime mover comprising a motive-fluid admission valve, a governor mechanism for controlling the admission valve to takecare of varying loads, a steering element, a oneway, solenoid-operated clutching device associated with the governing mechanism, and operating means for the clutching device rendered effective by movement of the steering element, whereby, when the ship is turned, the governing mechanism is inelfective to open the admission valve Wider but is free to move said valve in a closing direction.

5. A control mechanism for a marine turbine comprising a steam admission valve, a governing mechanism for the valve for controlling the admission of steam to take care of varying loads and including cooperating levers in contact for movement together in one direction when a closing movement otthe admission valve takes place and a resilient connection between the levers which is sufficiently strong to allow the levers to normally move together in the other direction when an opening movement of the admission valve takes place but which will allow one lever to move relatively to the other when movement of the latter lever is opposed. a clutching device rendered effective at will to clutch one of the levers against motion in a direction to open the admission valve wider.

6. A controlling mechanism for a marine turbine comprising a governor driven by a rotating element of the turbine, a valve for controlling the admission of-steam to the parts adapted to contact turbine, hydraulic relay mechanism for moving the admission .valve, a connection be-' tween the governor and an element of the relay mechanism including a plurality of and positively transmit motion of the governor to said relay element when the governor moves in one direction and which are yieldably connected so that the governor may move in the other direction when motion of one of the parts is resisted, and means to hold one of said parts, whereby wider opening of the admission valveis prevented when desired.

In testimony whereof I have hereunto subscribed my name this 24th day of August, 1921.

WARREN B. FLANDERS. 

